London-based ice-cream brand Hackney Gelato has plans to increase its marketing investment after raising £600,000 in a crowdfunding campaign.
According to the Grocer, the campaign raised £667,000 from 312 backers on the Crowdcube platform.
Launching in 2015 as a food service channel, the brand’s overall revenues have increased to £2.4 million in the last four years. It now supplies Waitrose, Ocado, Tesco and Gorillas, as well as partnering with Brewdog.
Hackney Gelato intends to use the crowd-sourced funds to expand its sales department and invest in sampling and in-store marketing to increase its popularity. The brand will also boost the size of its warehouse and kitchen.
The news comes months after Häagen-Dazs declared itself as the ‘The Ice Cream of Ice Creams’ in a global marketing campaign.
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“The last few years have been crazy,” Hackney Gelato co-founder Enrico Pavoncelli said.
“We’ve gone from selling gelato at market stalls in Hackney to being stocked nationwide in the likes of Ocado, Waitrose and Tesco.
“There is a clear shift towards luxury within the ice cream category, and we want more people to discover how good carefully crafted Italian gelato can be.
“It’s an exciting time and we’re only just getting started.”
